Fire control mechanism



Oct.u 6, 1942. a. P. JoYcE FIRE CONTRGL MECHANISM Filed July 22, 1941 3 s'neetspsheet 1 nvm. www

IHUIVUHH N MMMNN Oct. 6, 1942. B. P. JoYcE FIRE CONTROL MECHANISM 5 ShftS-Sheet 2 Filed July 22, 1941 Oct. 6, 1942. B. P. JOYCE FIRE CONTROL MECHANISM 3 'Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed -July 22, 1941 Ilmlmdm Patented Oct. 6, 1942 Sl'ir FFME.

Filtri CGNTROL MECHANESM Orange, N. J., assignor to Bryan P. Joyce, East American Armament Corporation,

New York,

4 Claims.

The invention aims to improve upon mechanisms for controlling the firing of aircraft, tank, or similar guns capable of single-shot operation or automatic operation at the gunners will, and the improvements are particularly adaptable to the gun disclosed in my U. S. Patents No. 2,122,423 cf July 5, 1938, No. 2,142,132 of January 3, 1939, and No, 2,186,026 of January 9, 19410, placing the gun under control of one of the gunners hands instead of one of his feet and thereby better adapting it for use on tanks.

In carrying out the above end, a further object is to provide a manually slidable control rod having a novel cam which effects gun firing and is slidab-le to one position for automatic gun operation and in the same direction to another position for single-shot operation.

Yet another object is to provide novel means settable by the gunner for limiting the movements of the control rod to the desired positions, this settable means also preferably acting normally as a safety lock to hold the control rod against any movement from its normal position.

A still further object is to provide a mechanism of the class described which will be relatively simple and inexpensive yet highly efficient and reliable.

With the foregoing in View, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to. the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation partly broken away and in section showing the control rod in its normal or safety position.

Figure 2 is a top plan View partly broken away and in section.

Figure 3 is a transverse section substantially on line 3 3 of Fig. l.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. l but illustrating the control rod moved to the proper position for automatic gun operation.

Figure 5 is a similar View illustrating the control rod moved to position for single-shot operation.

Figure 6 is an enlarged Vertical longitudinal section substantially on line 6-6 of Fig. 2 but showing the parts in the next position which they occupy immediately after the control rod reaches i the position of Fig. 5.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but illustrating the action which occurs as the control rod is returned to its normal idle position.

Figure 8 is a top plan View showing the cam carried by the front end of the control rod, which cam is also illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7.

Figure 9 is a detail horizontal sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 5.

Figure 10 is a perspective View of the manually settable slide whi-ch limits the movements of the control rod.

Figure l1 is a perspective View of the latch which normally holds the gun ring rod in cocked position.

In the drawings above briefly described, a preferred construction has been illustrated and While that construction will be rather specifically explained, it is to be understood that within the scope of the invention as claimed, variations may be made.

A portion of a gun cradle has been illustrated at I2'. Slidably mounted longitudinally upon this cradle is a firing rod I3 which res the gun when slid rearwardly under the influence of the spring I4 (Fig. 2). The rear end of the firing rod I3 is shown abutting a swingable arm I5 which in turn abuts a trigger arm I6. Rearward sliding of the ring rod I3 effects movement of the trigger arm II to re the gun and after such ring, the parts IB, I5 and I3 are again automatically moved forwardly to cocked position by means forming no part of the present invention. .For holding the firing rod I3 in its forward or cocked position, a latch I'I is pivoted upon the gun cradle for coaction. with a lug I8 on the front end of said rod, said latch being urged to operative position by a spring-pressed plunger I9 (Fig. 3). It will thus be seen that each time the firing rod I3 is forced forwardly to cocked position, the latch I'I will releasably hold said rod in said cocked position, unless said latch be held in an inoperative position. 1f the latch I1 be moved to free the rod I3 and then immediately released, the gun will re once and the latch will again hold the rod I3 when it is moved forwardly to cocked position. However, if the latch I'I be moved to disengage the rod I3 and held against return to operative position, the rod I3 is free to again move rearwardly each time it is cocked, for automatic operation of the gun. As the action of the rod I3, arm I5 and trigger arm I6 is old in the patents above referred to, the brief explanation so far given seems sufficient.

A releasing member is provided for the latch t?, said releasing member being shown in the form of a lever` 20 fulcrumed between its ends at T2 I to the gun cradle and extending longitudinally of the latter. A cam 22 is provided to operate the latch-releasing lever 2D, said cam being carried by the front end 0f a control rod 23 which extends longitudinally of the cradle I2, the front portion of said control rod 23 being mounted slidably and non-rotatably in an appropriate guide 34 secured to the cradle. The rear end portion of this rod 23 passes slidably through a cylindrical casing 35 secured to the cradle, said casing containing a spring 36 which constantly forces rearwardly on a collar 31 on said rod, to normally hold the latter in its rearmost position (Fig. l). The rod 23 is provided with an appropriate handle 33 by means of which the gunner may slide it forwardly to control the firing of the gun. When the rod 23 is slid forwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4, the cam 22 moves the latch-releasing lever 29 to latchreleased position and holds it in this position as long as said rod is held against return to the normal position of Fig. 1, thus effecting automatic operation of the gun. When the control rod 23 is slid further forwardly to the position shown in Fig. 5, it moves the latch-releasing lever 20 to latch-released position (Fig. 5) and then immediately permits return of said lever 2l! to its normal position (Fig. 6), for single-shot operation of the gun. After the single-shot has been fired, the gunner of course releases his pressure against the handle 38 and the spring 36 then restores the control rod 23 to its normal position (Fig. 1), and provision is made whereby the cam 22 may clear the latch-releasing lever 20 without moving the latter, as said rod 23 returns from its Fig. position (see Fig. '1)

In the preferred construction, the cam 22 is in the form of a wedge having a T-slot 39 as shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8, said cam being cooperable with a T-head 40 on the rear end of the latch-releasing lever 20. As the cam is pushed forwardly, it wedges the lever 20 from the normal position of Fig. 1 to the latch-released position of Fig. 4 or Fig. 5. It will be recalled that when the cam 22 holds the lever 2D in the position ofk Fig. 4 as long as the rod 23 is held in the position shown in said ligure, automatic gun operation will take place. It will also be recalled that when the cam 22 is slid to the position shown in Fig. 5, it is intended to operate the latch-releasing lever 29 and then immediately release it. This release is effected by downward passage of the T-head 49 through the T-slot 39 of the cam, as seen in Fig. 6, and as the cam 23 returns rearwardly, downwardly facing inclined cam surfaces 4| of said cam simply ride over the T-head 40 as shown in Fig. 7, the cam 22 being yieldably mounted upon the rod 23 to permit said cam to move aside and clear said T-head. In the present showing, the cam 22 is provided with a rearwardly projecting arm 42 which is pivoted at 43 to a carrier block 44 which is secured to the front end of the control rod 23, and a suitable spring device 45 connects the arm 42 with the carrier block 44 to normally swing the arm 42 and cam 22 downwardly to the position illustrated in most of the Views and to permit upward swinging of said parts as they return rearwardly from the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

It will be observed that the T-slot 33 divides the front portion of the cam member 22 into two forwardly projecting arms, the inner sides of c which carry the rearwardly inclined cams whose upper faces operate the lever 29 by wedging under the T--head 40 when rod 23 is pushedforwardly, and whose lower faces simply ride over said T-head and swing said cam member and the arm 42 upwardly during return of said rod In order to more readily guide the cam 22 and carrier block 44, a horizontal longitudinal track flange 46 is preferably provided on the cradle to slidably support said parts. The rear end of the lever 29 is directly over this track flange and the ange will thus limit the movement imparted to said lever by the latch I1 when the springpressed plunger I9 (Fig. 3) restores said latch to operative position.

For successful operation, it is of course essential that provision be made to accurately limit the forward movement of the control rod 23 to the Fig. 4 position (for automatic gun operation) or to the Fig. 5 position for single-shot operation. I have, therefore, provided novel means to so limit the forward movements of the control rod, and it is preferable that said means shall also act as a safety lock to hold rod 23 against any movement whenever` desired. In the present construction, a collar 41 is secured on the rear eX- tremity of the control rod 23, in rearwardly spaced relation with the collar 31 (Fig. 1) against which the spring 35 abuts, and this collar 41 is cooperable with a manually settable slide 48, said slide having one position (Fig. 1) in which it locks the control rod 23, a second position (Fig. 4) in which it permits the necessary control rod movement for automatic gun operation, and a third position (Fig. 5) in which it permits further forward sliding of rod 23 for single-shot gun operation. When the slide 48 is in the position shown in Fig. 1, a rearwardly facing step 49 on said slide abuts the collar 41, and the front side of said slide then abuts the collar 31 so that the control rod 23 is held against accidental movement in either direction. When the slide 48 is slid to the Fig. 4 position, a second step 50 on said slide is positioned in advance of the Collar 41 to limit the forward movement of the rod 23 to the position required for automatic gun operation. When the slide 48 is slid to the Fig. 5 position, a third step 5| on said slide is positioned in advance of the collar 41 to limit the forward movement of the control rod 23 to the singleshot position. There are suitable markings on the slide 48 and the adjacent casing 35 to aid in setting said slide at any of its three positions, and I provide a spring-pressed bolt 52 cooperable with openings 53 in the gun cradle, for holding said slide in any of its set positions. bolt which is shown more particularly in Fig. 9, is provided with a knob 54 by means of which it may be released, said knob serving also as a handle for setting the slide. The slide 48 is preferably provided with a channel 55 which opens upwardly and receives the rear portion of the control rod 23. Upward movement of the slide is limited by striking of the channel bottom against the rod. Downward movement of said slide may be limited by any suitable stop such as that shown at 56. 51 merely denotes appropriate guide ribs for the slide 48.

As to operation, the gunner sets the slide 48 in the required position. When this slide is set as in Fig. 1, the control rod 23 is locked against all movement. When the slide is moved downwardly to the Fig. 4 position, the rod 23 may be forwardly slid to the limit dictated by the step 50 and collar 41, causing the cam 22 to swing the level' 29 to the latch-released position shown in said Fig. 4 position, the cam serving to hold the lever 20 in this latch-released position as long as the gunner presses forwardly on the han- The dle 38 and holds collar 41 against step 5U.. Thus, the latch II being held in released position, it cannot hold the firing rod I3 each time this rod moves forwardly to cocked position during the operation of the gun, with the result that said rod I3 will be immediately returned by the spring I4 after each of its forward movements, effecting repeated gun firings in rapid succession. When single-shot operation of the gun is desired, the slide 48 is adjusted to the Fig. 5 position and the control rod 23 is forced forwardly to the limit allowed by the ste-p 5I and collar 41. Thus, the cam 22 moves the lever 2|] to release the latch I'I for gun firing, and immediately after this latch-releasing movement of the lever 20, its T-head ddrops through Ythe T-slot 39 of the cam as seen in Fig. 6, permitting return'ofVV the latch I1 into position to hold the rod I3 in its forward or cocked position as soon as said rod reaches this position. When the gunner releases his4 forward pressure on the handle 38 of the control rod 23, the spring 36 rearwardly returns this rod to the normal position shown in Fig. l, and during such return, the cam 22 clears the T-head 4B as shown in Fig. 7.

From the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention, and while preferred details have been shown, attention is again invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. lin a gun, a cradle, firing means including a firing member on said cradle movable rearwardly to effect gun firing, a latch mounted on said cradle and operatively associated with said firing member to latch the same in a forward cocked position, a releasing lever for said latch, said releasing lever extending longitudinally of said cradle and being fulcrumed between its ends on said cradle, said releasing lever having a front end operatively associated with said latch for releasing the latter when said front end of said releasing lever is depressed, said releasing lever having a rear end provided with a T-head, a control rod extending longitudinally of said cradle, means mounting said control rod on said cradle for longitudinal sliding, said mounting means having portions for holding said control rod against vertical movements, the front end of said control rod being provided with a forwardly projecting carrier block spaced behind said T-head, an arm lying on and extending longitudinally of said carrier block, said arm having its rear end pivoted to said carrier block on a transverse axis to allow the front end of said arm to swing upwardly, spring means connecting said arm with said carrier block and normally holding said arm in lowered position upon said block, and a cam member secured to the front end of said arm and projecting forwardly therefrom substantially to said T-head, said cam member having two laterally spaced forwardly projecting arms and two cams on the inner sides of said arms respectively, said cams having rearwardly inclined upper cam surfaces to wedge under said T-head and operate said latch-releasing lever when said rod is slid forwardly from an idle rear position to a second position or slid further forwardly to a third position, said block preventing downward swinging of said arm with respect to said rod as said upper cam surfaces wedge under said T-head, said cams being of a length to allow said T-head to drop from their when said rod has reached said third positionA said cams having lower rearwardly inclined carnsurfaces to ride over said T-head and upwardly swing said arm and said cam member as said rod is returned from said third position to said rear idle position.

2. In a gun, a cradle, a firing member cn said: cradle, a latch on said cradle engageable with said firing member for holding it in cocked position, a releasing member for said latch mounted on said' cradle and having a vertically movable rear portion provided with a horizontal lateral projection, a control rod extending longitudinally of said cradle behind said latch-releasing member andV normally occupying a rear idle position, means mounting said control rod on said cradle for longitudinal sliding, saidv means having portions which hold said control rod against vertical movements, an upwardly swingable arm pivotally mounted on the front portion of said rod and having a cam-carrying portion which projects forwardly from said rod substantially to said lateral projection, spring means connecting said upwardly swingable arm with said rod and normally holding said arm in a substantially horizontal lowered position, and a cam on one side of said forwardly projecting portion of said arm, said cam having an upper rearwardly inclined cam surface to Wedge under said lateral projection and operate said latch-releasing member 4when said rod is slid forwardly from said idle rear position to a second position or slid further forwardly to a third position, means for prohibiting downward swinging of said arm with respect to said rod as said upper cam surface wedges under said lateral projection, said cam being of a length to allow said lateral projection to drop from its rear end when said rod reaches said third position, said cam having a lower rearwardly inclined cam surface to ride over said lateral projection and upwardly swing said arm with respect to said control rod as said rod is returned from said third position to said rear idle position.

3. In a gun, a cradle, firing means including a firing member on said cradle movable rearwardly to effect gun firing, a latch mounted on said cradle and operatively associated with said firing member to latch the same in a forward cocked position, a releasing lever for said latch, said releasing lever extending longitudinally of said cradle and being fulcrumed between its ends on said cradle, said releasing lever having a front end operativeli7 associated with said latch for releasing the latter when said front end of said releasing lever is depressed, said releasing lever having a rear end provided with a horizontal lat- -eral projection, a control rod extending longitudinally of said cradle, means mounting said control rod on said cradle for longitudinal sliding, said mountin-g means having portions which hold said control rod against vertical movements, said control rod normally occupying a rear idle position, the front end of said control rod being provided with a forwardly projecting carrier block spaced behind said lateral projection, an arm lying on and extending longitudinally of said carrier block, said arm having its rear end pivoted to said carrier block on a transverse axis to a1- low the front end of said arm to swing upwardly, spring means connecting said arm with said carrier block and normally holding said arm in lowered position upon said block, said arm having a forwardly projecting cam-carrying portion, and a cam on one side of said cam-carrying portion extending substantially to said lateral pro- J'ection, said cam having a rearwardly inclined upper cam surface to wedge under said lateral projection and operate said latch-releasing lever when said control rod is slid forwardly from said idle rear position to a second position or slid further forwardly to a third position, said block holding said arm against downward swinging with respect to said rod as said upper cam surface wedges under said lateral projection, said cam being of a length to allow said lateral projection to drop from its rear end when said rod has reached said third position, said cam having a lower rearwardly inclined cam surface to ride over said lateral projection and upwardly swing said arm and cam with respect to said rod as said rod is returned from said third position to said rear idle position.

4. In a gun, a cradle, firing means having a control rod spaced outwardly from said cradle, said control rod extending longitudinally of Vsaid cradle, means mounting said control rod on said cradle for forward shifting from a normal rear position to a second position and in the same direction to a third position, the rear end of said rod being provided with a forwardly facing stop, a U-shaped slide straddling said rod in front of said stop, one arm of said U-shaped slide extending between said control rod and said cradle, said cradle having a vertical guideway slidably receiving said one arm of said U-shaped slide, said U-shaped slide having three rearwardly facing steps which are offset from each otherr in directions extending longitudinally of said control rod, said steps being selectively cooperable with said stop of said control rod according to the position to which said slide is vertically adjusted, and means for holding said slide in'vertically adjusted position.

BRYAN P. JOYCE. 

